Daniel Nartey revived University of Santo Tomas’ Final Four hopes with just one cool finish in the UAAP Season 85 Men’s Football Tournament.
The Ghana-born striker scored in the 36th minute against Ateneo de Manila University last Sunday to help the Golden Booters climb to fourth place in the standings with 16 points.
“Before proceeding to this game, we had a mindset of getting the win no matter what because we needed a win to climb to the Final Four. So with the lone goal, we went into the second half to secure the goal, but we needed to attack more… We are glad we got the win,” he said.
Nartey played like a man possessed throughout the whole 90 minutes. He did not feature in UST’s 3-1 victory over University of the East due to suspension from the former’s slim 1-0 defeat at the hands of University of the Philippines.
Aside from scoring, the former University of San Agustin student was a thorn in the Blue Eagles’ defense. He attracted the defenders and made space for teammates such as Stephen Marasigan to come in and take shots.
“We came into this game with our heads strong. During my suspension, I was sitting in the stands, and then I could feel my legs shaking. I wanted to play,” he said.
“Coming into this game, I brought all the energy that I reserved during the last game I couldn’t play to this game. I was going back and forth and doing my best. That was the mentality I brought to this game.”
After the setback against the Fighting Maroons, the Golden Booters have now secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season. It may have come late, but they are building momentum just when they need it most.
Next up for UST is a date against Far Eastern University this Sunday. The Tamaraws currently lead the standings after their impressive three-goal win over De La Salle University. It will be another tough test for Nartey and his fellow Golden Booters, but he is looking forward to the challenge.
“Since we climbed the table today, we still want to keep the momentum going to the next game… We are just waiting for the opportunity to play against them and win.”
